Through This House Give Glimmering Light
by The Telepathic Hawk
Summary: When Kurt gets very, very sick he discovers things about himself that he never thought possible. Puck/Kurt, Will/Emma, Finn/Rachel, Burt/Carole. Rating may go up in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. I make no profit from writing this.

Author's Notes: Not a death fic, I promise! Please just stick with it long enoug to get to the second chapter!

The first time he saw her he had to look twice. But, she was still there. He shook his head, blinked slowly twice and looked again. He started from her fabulous boots, up the trim, slight body encased fashionably in a pair of dark wash skinny blue jeans and a beautiful off the shoulders sweater in a fire engine red that accented her porcelain skin with the just barest hints of pink undertone. It was the same tone of red that made his skin look perfect. He continued up to her hair, left long, almost to the small of her back, and unbound, in the same exact color as his own. His breath began to come in little gasps when her lips curved up into the smile that he knew so well. It was the same one forever on her face in the picture the picture he had kept on his dresser since he could remember. He looked higher into eyes that she had given him. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He shook his head again, more violently, and didn't manage not to rub his eyes, despite the way his brain insisted it would smear his mascara. But, he didn't want to listen to his brain at the moment. It couldn't be trusted. It was trying to get him to believe things that had to be his imagination. After all, there was no way that his mother could be standing in the Lima mall, smiling at the small family that was walking by as she headed toward the shoe store that Kurt himself loved so much. His mother had been dead for eight years, nearly nine. The woman across the crowds from him could not be his mother. However, the mental scolding he treated himself to didn't stop him from bolting from his friends like a track star to go to her. She slipped inside the show store just before he did and when he came to halt just inside the door, breathing harshly, tears already in his eyes and ready to call out to her the only things he found were a clerk glaring at him and five other patrons looking at him with expressions that ranged from curiosity to annoyance. There was no sign of her anywhere.

"What the hell is wrong with you, boy?" Mercedes demanded when his friends finally caught up with him, still standing awkwardly in the doorway of the shoe store. He was unable to answer, he was so shaken. When he turned and they saw his pale face and trembling hands they wasted no time or words at all. Minutes later he found himself at his favorite nail place, his feet already in the pedicure water while Mercedes and Tina held his hands without speaking and Rachel and Artie went to get him a Starbucks and a macadamia nut white chocolate chip cookie from the food court.

Rachel hadn't originally been invited on their little outing that afternoon, but when they had seen her in the tuxedo place, glazing over while her dads debated the style and cut of tuxedo to wear to a black tie wedding they had taken pity on her. That was the type of thing Kurt could enjoy, but not Rachel. And, to be honest, she had been getting so much better now that she and Finn were officially dating. She made an effort to get along with Kurt and he made an effort to get along with her. First it had been for Finn's sake, but they were slowly becoming friends. He was glad for all of their presences as he tried to calm himself and bring his adrenaline down. They all made him feel steadier. When his hands finally stopped shaking he explained to them in a very quiet voice what had happened, what he thought he'd seen. They all made the appropriate noises of sympathy and comfort at all the right times and he nearly cried again when Tina and Mercedes declared that they would be having a sleepover and that Kurt had no say in the matter. He was relieved when Rachel said her dads already had plans and she had to decline. She was getting better, there was no doubt about it, but that didn't mean that Kurt wanted her around all the time quite yet.

Hours later, when he was snuggled on the couch in his room, between Mercedes and Tina, he was glad that he had finally let people in. It felt good to know that his friends knew him well enough to do exactly what he needed that night. After they dropped Artie off at home Tina and Mercedes took him home and immediately pushed him into the bathroom for a hot shower and pampering session with his moisturizers. When he finally came back into his room, bundled in his most comforting flannel pajamas that he would never admit to owning, they had two pints of Ben and Jerry's, three spoons, and a few well chosen tearjerker movies at the ready so that he would both be able to simultaneously drown his sorrows in sugar and let himself cry with an excuse that had nothing to do with what had happened that afternoon. Burt and Finn came down the stairs to tell Kurt they were home just as 'A Walk to Remember' was finishing. When they saw the three on the couch Burt just rolled his eyes and said he would order pizza before he walked back upstairs. Finn just sighed before mumbling something about making up the couch upstairs for himself and following Burt up the stairs.

When he woke up the next morning, Mercedes holding him close and Tina's back against his, he finally felt steady and as if he was ready to take on the real world that he lived in. His mother was dead and she had been since he was eight. And that was okay. He had loved her. He loved her still, but she was gone. Maybe his mind had created something that he wished he could see, but it was probably due to the pressure of his life lately. After all, he was trying to balance three very physical, very tasking activities while also working at his father's garage, keeping his grades up, and helping Carole plan for what was fast becoming the not simple wedding that she had wanted but had been afraid to ask for. He was more than happy to volunteer his help. Carole's first wedding had been a small ceremony at City Hall before her new husband shipped out. She deserved everything with her second and though she didn't want to say it, because she didn't want to seem like she was making a fuss, Kurt was going to make sure that she received the fairy tale day that she had always wanted. And it was hard to be preparing simultaneously for playoffs with football because they, and no one had expected it, were actually good this fall, regionals with the Cheerios, (He was only allowed to keep playing football because none of the dates interfered and they didn't have full shows during football games so Kurt didn't technically have to be with the cheerleaders. Sue had nearly castrated him when he suggested it, but Ken Tanaka falling on his knees in front of her and practically sobbing had convinced her that Kurt was needed by the football team as much as the Cheerios needed him.) and sectionals with New Directions would put a strain on anyone. He was managing, though apparently not as well as he'd thought. He would just have to make more time to rest so that his mind didn't try to make things up in his exhaustion. He was satisfied with his realization and what he had decided to keep it from happening again and was downright chipper as he got the girls up and told them that was going to make them all pancakes. Neither girl had the heart to tell him that he'd trembled and cried in his sleep all night.

It was after that day that Kurt began to notice little things that didn't seem quite right with his body. After running through a number with the Cheerios that he had done nearly five dozen times perfectly he was out of breath. He hid it well as he moved to the water cooler and by the time he took a drink he was feeling steadier. He was tackled during practice, not very hard, but couldn't seem to get back up. It took Coach Tanaka nearly a minute to get him to respond and Puck had his cell phone in hand, ready to call an ambulance, when Kurt finally sat up and told them that he was okay. They all assumed that it was because he was so small that the tackle had taken him down so readily. He tended to agree with them and none of them thought anything of it aside from putting more protection on him when he was on the field. They needed him. He got dizzy momentarily in Glee and almost fell before Puck caught him. The dizziness cleared right away and he pushed himself out of Puck's arms with a look that was a cross between begrudging thanks and disgust. Puck just laughed at him and they went back to their choreography. But all of those things happened when he was doing something exerting. It only began to scare him when as he was going through his nightly skin care ritual his fingers went numb and he dropped the bottle of moisturizer.

"You okay, dude?" Finn asked, picking the bottle up and setting it back on his vanity, "You've seemed kinda off these past few days."

"I'm fine, Finn," Kurt assured him, though he wasn't sure that he really believed it himself. Finn was a strong young man, but in many, many ways he was still just a boy and was able to maintain his confidence as long as someone else presented a confident air. As long as Kurt acted like everything was okay Finn would be fine, too. So, he pushed aside his fear and said, "I just need to sleep a little more. I've been doing a lot lately."

"Just don't…don't push yourself, okay?" Finn looked so concerned that Kurt couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He patted Finn on the cheek, but Finn took it in the spirit it was meant and just smiled at Kurt, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Don't worry about me, big brother," He said brightly, smiling and hoping that Finn couldn't see how easy it would be for his façade to fall if he just pushed a little more, "I'll get more rest, promise."

"And eat more," Finn said, as he stood up straight again and crossed the room.

"If you insist," Kurt laughed and went back to his nightly ritual, keeping the smile on his face as he watched Finn watching him in the mirror.

Over the next three weeks Kurt tried to pretend that everything was alright. Aside from the fact that his bouts with weakness happened more and more often -he'd come to call them episodes- he felt fine. It was nearly once a day that he couldn't catch his breath, or he felt the strange sort of detachment from the world as he had felt on the football field the day he was tackled, or he got so dizzy he almost fell. But, he didn't want to think about what it could mean, he didn't want to admit to himself that something could be wrong, and so he didn't. He pretended everything was normal and because he was pretending his friends were also pretending. They pretended that they couldn't see the way he got paler and thinner every day despite the fact that he was eating as he always had and wasn't forcing himself to throw up. That had been everyone's first thought and so Finn watched him closely when he was at home, ear pressed to the door whenever he went to the bathroom, and Mercedes watched him during the day. But, no one could find fault with how he was caring for himself.

Burt and Carole were the only ones who weren't pretending, who couldn't pretend. Carole because she could see how much Kurt's sudden illness (Because she and Burt were convinced that he was very, very ill.) was affecting Burt and because in the short time that she and her own son had been living with Burt and his she had come to care for the snarky, fashionable young man more than she had ever imagined. She had thought it would be hard to love someone else's child, another woman's child, but in the weeks she had been living in the same house she'd come to see Kurt as he was and not as he presented himself to most. She saw the young man who was not nearly as sure of himself as he pretended to be, who longed for love not only from another young man but from a mother. She shared late night meals of scrambled eggs and hot tea with him when neither of them could sleep because they were worried about the people they cared about most being affected by their own issues. They took comfort in each other when they finally voiced their worries and both felt steadier for it. And finally one night, only a few days before Kurt began to lose weight and coloring noticeably, she had said that she loved him just before they parted to go to sleep. Her heart had stuttered in her chest when Kurt had smiled at her with heart breaking sweetness and told her that he loved her too.

"Baby," She kissed his head when she came into the kitchen one night and he was making scrambled eggs, his tea, sweet, and her tea, milk and just a tiny bit of sugar, already on the counter next to his elbow, then took his hands in her own and kissed his forehead again, "What's going on, sweetheart? Are you okay?"

"Carole," Kurt laughed gently, sweetly, and kissed her cheek in return, "I'm fine. Everything's okay. I just need to get a little more rest. I'm doing a lot lately. I promise I'll look after myself better. Do you want cheese on your eggs tonight?"

There was nothing Carole could say after that no matter how much she wanted to. So, she left it alone. But, it didn't stop tearing her apart and beside how much seeing the boy she had come to love hurt her she was doubly worried because of how worried Burt was. The man she had loved more than anyone since her husband wasn't sleeping. He tossed and turned. Sometimes he had nightmares that she had to wake him from when he began moaning for his son. The bags under his eyes were getting darker everyday. Sometimes when he held Kurt to him before the boys took off for school or before they all went to bed she could see the anguish in his eyes over letting him go. Burt confessed to her one night as they laid quietly in the bed that what was happening to Kurt was how it had begun with Tanya before she had given in and gone to the doctor and no one in the hospital or any of the specialists they had taken her to had been able to do anything. She had simply wasted away before his eyes. His greatest fear was, and had always been, the same happening to Kurt.

"Hey, Kiddo," Burt finally broached the topic when they were underneath a car together and the streak of oil on Kurt's cheek highlighted just how pale he'd gotten in the past few weeks, "What's going on?"

"I don't know, Dad," Kurt said quietly as they looked at each other, eyes locked, faces placid, "I feel okay, though. Most of the time. I don't want to worry about it yet. I don't want to think about it yet."

"We have to worry about it now, kid. We have to think about it now. First thing Monday we're going to a doctor."

Kurt just nodded. Burt took his hand and pressed the neatly manicured fingers over his own heart. Neither of them would ever admit that they had tears in their eyes.

It happened the Saturday before Kurt's appointment. And this time he was certain she was real. The glee club was out to dinner just after their second consecutive sectionals first place win. She was seated at a table on the other side of the restaurant. Kurt wouldn't have even seen her if he hadn't had to go to the bathroom. She was alone, sipping red wine and reading a paperback novel. Her hair was up in a classy French twist. She was in a beautiful red dress that showed off her trim, compact form. He stopped in his tracks, causing Quinn and Mercedes to freeze and look at him worriedly. Quinn hadn't gone to the mall with them that Saturday, but Mercedes had told her all about it and his girls, all of them, were more worried than they could say about him, but none more so than the two in front of him.

"It's her," Kurt whispered, "Just behind you."

They turned to look at, making him momentarily lose sight of her. When they turned around and he could see the table again, she was gone and the table was clear.

"Kurt, sweetie, there's no one there." Quinn said quietly.

"I…" Kurt's vision went suddenly dark and the last thing he heard before everything went away was Mercedes and Quinn calling out his name. The last thing he felt was his head striking the edge of a table and then the floor.

When he came to it was to the annoying sound of his alarm clock. He was reaching out to shut it off when his arm was caught by something. Something that pinched and hurt. He opened his eyes to see an IV needle in the inside of his elbow and a small tube taped there. He turned his head and realized that the annoying beeping was actually the sound of a heart monitor. He was in a hospital. He hated hospitals. He had sworn them off after his mother died because the bad memories of them that were almost the only memories he had of his mother made his stomach hurt. He groaned and closed his eyes again.

"Kurt, baby," Carole's smooth, warm hand was suddenly wrapped around his, "Are you awake, sweetheart?"

"I'm awake, Carole," Kurt said, surprised at how rough and soft his voice was. He opened his eyes and turned toward her voice. She looked horrible, like she hadn't slept in days, "What happened?"

"You passed out at the restaurant after sectionals, sweetie. You hit your head."

He blinked a couple of times and looked up at the ceiling. He thought he remembered passing out. Because he had seen…No, he hadn't seen her. Quinn's voice telling him that there was no one there was definitely something he remembered. But, if he had just passed out why was he in the hospital? He swallowed down the tears and knew that what he had been dreading had finally happened.

"How long have I been out?" He asked finally, turning his face back to her.

"Three days."

"Three days…" He felt his throat start to close a little and the tears he'd been fighting back spilled over, "Carole, where is…" He didn't want her to feel as if he wasn't glad that she was there when he woke up, but he needed his dad and he needed him now, especially when he realized that there were tubes for oxygen in his nose and he still didn't want to admit to himself what was going on and his stomach was starting to hurt.

"Where's your dad? It's okay to ask, sweetie. He's talking with the doctors right now. They still don't know why you passed out or why you've been losing so much weight. They can do more tests now that you're awake." She brushed his hair back from his forehead, needing some contact with him, trying to bite back her own sobs.

"Carole, you know they never figured out what killed my mother?" Kurt asked after a time. Carole's hand tightened on his.

"I know, sweetie."

"Tell the doctors if they ask…I've been having these spells. I haven't even told Dad about them yet. I get dizzy or out of breath or my fingers go numb. But, they always go away after a minute or so. Once, when I got hit in football practice it was like the world just faded away. I could see Finn and Puck and Coach Tanaka above me, but I couldn't hear them or make myself respond. My mother…some of those things happened to her before she died. Carole, I don't want to have whatever she had when the doctors couldn't do anything for her. I don't want to die. I'm scared."

"I know, baby." She knew how much it cost him to admit how scared he was to her and she had never felt closer to him than when he tearfully asked her if she would lay with him for a while. She lay in the bed carefully before wrapping him in her arms so that he could lay his head on her chest. They cried together even as she whispered for him not to borrow trouble. It might be nothing. They didn't know for certain yet that he had the same thing as his mother. She whispered the things neither of them believed to him, as he began to fall asleep in her arms. Even as she held him as he slept she whispered that everything would be okay and she prayed that she was right. She couldn't bring herself to slip him out of her arms and leave the bed. She needed to hold him. And so she did.

"He woke up?" Burt asked quietly when he came back into the room and Carole fell in love with him all over again to see the absolute love and worry for his boy on his face.

"He's scared, Burt," She said after confirming his question with a nod, "I am, too. What did the doctor say?"

"All of the tests they've done so far are inconclusive. Kurt's body is just…shutting down. Like Tanya's did. They still have a lot more tests to run, but…Oh, God…Carole, the doctor's aren't hopeful. Carole, I can't lose him. I can't. I don't know what I'll do if…"

Carole closed her eyes against the pain the man she loved was feeling as her body shook with sobs that she kept in so as not to wake Kurt as she buried her face in the boy's soft hair. How was she supposed to help with this? She really had no idea. And they both loved Kurt so much, but Kurt was Burt's son. And to lose his son the same way he had lost his wife and at such a young age. She wasn't sure he would survive it. She knew that she would have a hard time finding the will to live if anything happened to Finn. She opened her eyes, took one of his hands in hers and tired to tell him that everything would be okay, but the words got caught in her throat. Suddenly the room was too small. She needed air and she needed to hold Finn. Burt seemed to understand. He pressed a hard kiss to her lips that was more about comfort and an expression of anger and fear than it was about passion or love. She returned the kiss with the same sentiments behind it before she climbed out of the bed carefully and watched quietly as Burt took her place, holding Kurt in his arms in the small hospital bed.

"Daddy…" Kurt murmured in his sleep and snuggled closer. Burt held him tighter and sobbed into his hair as Carole turned and walked slowly to the door. When she found Finn in the cafeteria, not eating the sandwich right in front of him, just staring straight ahead she moved to him slowly and took him in her arms before she said anything at all.

"It's not good, is it?" Finn asked in a monotone.

"No, sweetheart, it's not good."

"Is Kurt going to die, Mom?" Finn's voice broke around the question.

"Baby…I…" She held him close as he began to sob and took strength in being able to comfort him, "It's going to be okay, baby. It'll be okay." She wished like hell that she could believe the words she was saying.

Over the next two weeks Kurt was subjected to more tests than he had ever imagined. Some of them hurt so badly he just wanted to cry out that they should just let him die. But, he knew that that was just his dramatic nature talking and that it would frighten his father and Finn and Carole. One of them was always with him and they never complained when he held their hands as hard as he was able. He gave more blood than he thought he had in his body and he ate more horrible food than he thought was in the world. It got so bad that at one point he literally begged his father to go and get him something from Burger King just because it would taste good. The doctor walked in on them eating it one day after a particularly bad round of testing and they were all shocked when he told Kurt that he should be eating whatever he wanted to because they needed to try to get weight on him again. It was the only good thing about his stay in the hospital in Kurt's opinion. For the first time in his life he felt free to eat whatever he wanted.

His friends stopped by every single day. Most of the time they all came at once. Kurt was glad that his primary doctor was so interested in keeping his spirits up through everything. Because when he came in to see eleven teenagers who were not his patients and their coach performing a production number complete with costume and instrumental track blasting out of a CD player he just sat down on the edge of Kurt's bed and watched with him and his parents. When the number was over he applauded enthusiastically and asked if they would consider coming down to pediatrics to perform for the kids. They agreed enthusiastically and Kurt smiled permission when his father and Carole asked with their eyes if he would mind if they accompanied the group down to see the reactions of the children. He'd so rarely been alone since he'd begun his stay in the hospital (Burt and Carole were alternating days off, using their sick days and vacation, to be with him.) that it was kind of a relief to be alone even if for just a few minutes.

He saw her for the third time that day. And this time, he was certain that he saw her because it wasn't just out of the corner of his eye and when he closed his eyes, counted to ten, and opened them again she was still standing in the doorframe of his room. He knew that he definitely remembered her this way as she leaned against the door in loose jeans and a black tank top, her long hair pulled into a messy ponytail, not a single drop of makeup on her beautiful face, and paint splattering her clothes and her skin. Even as her eyes, those piercing eyes that he could see every time he looked in a mirror, gazed at him and that special smile that had only ever been for him curved her lips gently, he gazed at her and couldn't help the smile that spread across his own lips. She looked so good to him. Just seeing her already made him feel more calm, more steady, more…healthy. He sat up in the bed and reached out for her. Her smiled widened and she crossed the room in a few quick strides. He was surprised to realize just how small she was. He remembered her as being so much bigger. But, he was bigger now, he thought, almost as big as his dad…at least in height. He had seen their wedding picture and had known, intellectually, just how small she was, but it had never really hit him until today that his mother was no taller than Rachel. He wasn't surprised, when she sat in the chair next to his bed and took his hand, that when he swept his thumb over her cheek the wet blue paint spread across both of their skin. They giggled together softly before she set leaned forward and set her forehead to his. For a moment they simply breathed each other in.

"Prepare yourself, baby," She whispered after a moment. Her voice was the sweetest thing that he had heard in a very long time. He knew he had to have gotten his own voice from her because it almost sounded like she was singing when she spoke, "Soon…everything will be different."

"Different…" Kurt closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet scent of paint, rose and cherry blossoms, and cinnamon that was, had always been, unique to his mother, "Mom, what is…"

When he opened his eyes to look into hers and ask his question she was gone. But, he could still feel the heat of her skin in his forehead and on his hands. He looked at his thumb and could still see the blue paint on it. He wasn't imagining things! He knew he wasn't. She had been there both times before and she had been in his room with him just seconds before. Calling out for her, he pulled the covers off of his legs and tore the needle out of his arm without wincing even when the blood began to flow. He could hear the alarms in his room blaring, but couldn't think past finding his mother.

"Kurt, what do you think you're doing?" His primary nurse called out to him as she grabbed his arm. He tore his arm out of her hand and began to run, calling out for his mother. He hadn't gone far when the world around him began to spin out of control. He paused and put his hand out, trying to catch the wall. But, he never found the wall. Instead he simply fell to floor. He heard a sickening crack and felt pain shoot up his arm.

"Mommy…" He sobbed quietly into the floor, "Where did you go?"

"Easy, Hummel," Someone said quietly, comfortingly, into his ear as he was pulled into a strong, gentle embrace and cradled like a baby, "I've got you. Relax."

"Noah?" Kurt asked.

"Puck." The smile down at him was, for once, genuine. Kurt felt amazingly comforted as he tucked his head against Puck's neck, "The name's Puck, Hummel."

"Kurt," He corrected with a sigh and a small smile.

"Kurt," Puck agreed. Kurt felt the tensing of his jaw and knew that Puck was frowning, "God, you don't weigh anything at all anymore, do you?"

Kurt didn't bother to answer, knowing that the question was rhetorical. Instead he asked one of his own, "Where are the others?"

"They're eating ice cream in the cafeteria with the kids we sang for."

"Why aren't you there?"

"I don't like ice cream and I don't get along well with kids."

Kurt had been feeling much steadier as Puck carried him, but as he began to lay him in his bed the dizziness came back full force and he gripped harder to Puck's neck.

"Don't put me down!" He choked on a sob. He would be embarrassed later when he wasn't feeling like he was in the middle of a tornado.

"Okay. Okay, Kurt. I've got you." Puck began to hum a tune that Kurt felt more than heard. It pulled at him and he didn't understand why. He was certain that he'd never heard it before.

"We're going to have to check his wrist." His nurse's voice interrupted the song, but he was nearly asleep at that point and couldn't bother to rouse himself into full awareness again.

"Make sure he won't wake through the examination," Puck said, and his voice was much older, much more commanding, than Kurt had ever heard it. And much more protective, "I won't have him in pain. And send another nurse for his family. They're in the cafeteria." The voice softened, "Sleep now, Kurt. I have you."

When that voice commanded him he had to obey. He didn't even have enough time to wonder why Puck was saying what he was, why he sounded so different. He just slipped into sleep. As he did he thought he felt Puck kiss his forehead. When he woke he decided he'd been dreaming.

After two weeks of testing as he continued to lose strength and the length and severity of his attacks continued to worsen the doctor, who had been the driving factor in keeping them hopeful throughout the whole process sat down on the edge of Kurt's bed and put a hand on Finn's shoulder and Kurt's ankle as he watched Burt and Carole take both of Kurt's hands. He explained as gently and with as much sympathy as he could that they had done every test that they could and they still couldn't pin down what was wrong with him, why his body was shutting down. He told them that he had sent all of Kurt's scans to as many specialists as he could think of and none of them could give him even a hint or saw anything that he didn't. He showed scans from Tanya nearly nine years earlier and put Kurt's next to them and said that it was definitely the same thing, but he just couldn't explain it.

"And now, Kurt, Burt, Carole, and Finn, I'm sorry, but you all have a decision to make. Kurt, we can send you across the country to a specialist in rare diseases that I know, but your mom went to him, too and he's already told me that he'd be willing to try his hardest for you, too, but he's been working on your mom's case since she died and he still can't explain it or..." He took a deep breath when he finally ran out of air, but Kurt didn't let him continue.

"Dr. Reynolds, it's okay," Kurt reached out to pat the doctor's hand before he slipped his hand back into Burt's grip, "I've already made my decision."

His family looked at him with surprise on their faces. He smiled at them and it was so tired that they knew that none of them would argue with whatever he had decided.

"My dad and Carole…my…my mom," He smiled and squeezed her hand when Carole let out a little gasp and squeezed his hand a little harder, "They're supposed to be getting married at the end of the month. I want to be there. Do you think I'll make it that long?"

"Your prognosis, if your condition stays as stable as it has, is three to five months, Kurt. You should be fine."

"Good. I need to be there. I'm the wedding planner, after all." Carole pressed a kiss just at his hairline, "I just...I've decided that I don't want to be in the hospital any longer. My mother was in the hospital for so long and, if I remember correctly, she was miserable." He looked at Burt for confirmation. Burt swallowed hard and nodded, "I don't want to be miserable. I'll get oxygen and take whatever medications you think I need, but I'm going home. I want to be in a place I love surrounded by people I love when I…when it happens." He was suddenly shy as he looked up at the handsome young doctor who had tears in his eyes, "Does that…Is that okay?"

"It's fine, Kurt. It'll be fine."

So, they took him home. Kurt spent the next two weeks finishing off the wedding with all of his friends. Carole tried to insist that she didn't need the lavish wedding. She didn't want a big celebration when he was…She could never get the word out. It was something they simply did not say in their household. None of them wanted to think about it. But, when Kurt took her hand desperately and told her that he needed this, that he needed her wedding to keep his mind off of what was going to happen, she stopped trying to convince him that she didn't need it. He was making all of her dreams come true and he needed the wedding as much as she did. After that point they took nothing but joy in every little thing that they planned, every little detail that came together. Mercedes and Quinn practically moved in as they helped the two finish favors and programs and other little things that needed to be done.

On the day of the wedding Kurt was as healthy as could be expected. He stood by his father's side proudly with a chair and his oxygen next to him just in case, but he didn't need them. He smiled proudly when his father and his new mother took to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife and swayed gently to their song, eyes closed, holding each other close. Kurt felt better that he was leaving his father in Carole's hands. She wouldn't let him follow Kurt in death. He wouldn't want to leave her. Or Finn. The past weeks had forged them into a true family unit. Finn was Burt's son now, too. It was a good thing. Kurt didn't want any of them to be alone. He even accepted Rachel into his house on a daily basis because she would be the one Finn would need most after all was said and done.

Two days after the wedding Kurt had a severe seizure. He fell out of his chair at the dinner table and when the tremors in his body stopped they realized he wasn't breathing. Carole frantically called an ambulance as Burt began to breathe air desperately into his son's small chest. After just a couple of breaths Kurt was breathing on his own again. He was conscious shortly after that, but very groggy. Dr. Reynolds met them at the emergency room and told them that Kurt was deteriorating rapidly now and that he didn't have much longer, that the seizures were probably going to happen more often. He made sure Carole and Finn were also comfortable with rescue breathing before sending the small family home again.

Kurt had every intention of not letting the room he and Finn shared become a sick room, but once he was home in his own bed he realized that he was never going to leave it again. He barely had the strength anymore to sit up without the help of many pillows behind his back. He was uncomfortable and restless all the time, but didn't have the energy to do anything about it but cry in frustration. Burt and Carole stayed with him all day, every day, playing games, watching movies, and watching him sleep when his exhausted body finally won out against his racing mind. Finn was home directly after school every day, most of the time bringing the entire glee club with him. They took over for Burt and Carole in the evenings and the girls were alternating nights spent with Kurt, simply holding onto him as they slept. When he couldn't sleep he was glad to be able to reach out and feel someone with him. When he could sleep he was glad to wake up next to someone he knew loved him. He was surprised when Brittany and Santana added themselves to the rotation. He liked the girls well enough, but they had never been particularly close at all. He got to know them, and his other girlfriends very, very well as they held each other through the long nights and spoke endlessly about whatever came to their minds. Even Rachel became someone he held close to his heart. He was surprised by it, but not upset at all. Finn had almost permanently moved to the couch until, after two weeks, he added himself to the rotation as well.

"You know you don't have to do this, Finn," Kurt said quietly the first night Finn slipped into his bed and tried to settle Kurt comfortably against his chest.

"I want to," Finn said determinedly, "You're my brother, Kurt. It makes you feel better, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Kurt admitted reluctantly.

"Then, I definitely want to." Kurt let himself feel comforted as Finn wrapped him in his arms and held him close. He had almost fallen asleep when Finn's chest began to shake with the effort he was expending not to cry aloud. Kurt felt the tears come into his own eyes as well, but they were teenaged boys. They just didn't talk about these things.

"Finn?" He asked after a time.

"Yeah, Kurt?" The voice that answered was broken and heavy with suppressed tears.

"I'm sorry we're not going to have more time to be brothers."

"Yeah, Kurt," Finn only partially managed to stifle his sob as he ran a hand over Kurt's hair, "Me, too."

"Don't take this the wrong way but…I love you, Finn."

"Love you, too, bro." They gave themselves and each other unspoken permission to cry it all out because they knew they wouldn't allow themselves to do so again. When Kurt woke up the next morning Finn was watching him sleep quietly, his eyes sad but dry. Kurt smiled at him and nodded. Finn just ruffled his hair.

Matt and Mike did not volunteer to put themselves in the nightly rotation, but Kurt would have found it weird if they had. He was much more comforted by their quiet, steady presences when everyone else was trying too hard to laugh and smile around him. Often Matt would sit himself on the edge of the bed and pull Kurt's cold feet out from under the covers, rubbing them in an attempt to get the failing circulation going again. He always looked at Kurt with a sad little half smile and almost never said anything at all even when he was leaving, but Kurt could see everything he was trying to say in his eyes and knew that they understood each other on a level none of the other glee kids would understand, except perhaps Mike. Mike was often the one to calm the others and get them to be quiet so that Kurt could relax a little and not try to keep up with so many conversations when all of the voices talking at once were just confusing him. And it was Mike who gave him rescue breathing when he had another seizure and Finn, Burt, and Carole were upstairs. No one else had known what to do, but Mike had silently gotten him off of the bed and onto the floor before tilting his head back and pushing life saving air into his lungs. At least, that was what Mercedes had told him after the fact. When they were all panicking Mike had simply gotten him breathing again and saved his life. She was amazed, as were the others. Kurt wasn't surprised in the least.

The one who surprised him was Puck. Kurt had very much appreciated what Puck had done for him in the hospital but, if he was being honest with himself, he'd thought it was a one off. He wasn't expecting Puck to visit him at home at all. But, just like Finn Puck was there as soon as school ended, whether or not the other glee kids were there. Most of the time he simply sat in the corner of the room, Kurt's vanity chair leaned precariously on two legs, his arms crossed. He laughed and conversed with the others if they were there, but whenever Kurt would look over at him he was looking back, an unfathomable expression on his face. In one of his more fanciful moments Kurt thought that the look was understanding, fear, and determination all mixed into one. One of his favorite things to do when he was having a hard time sleeping was imagine why that particular combination of emotions was on Puck's face. He came up with dozens of scenarios, each more ridiculous than the last, and they made him laugh. Often the scenarios helped him fall asleep. The night he'd created one where Puck loved him madly and knew the cure for his illness (Something magical, of course.) he woke to hear a tense, whispered conversation between his father and the boy he had been dreaming about.

"You know…I know who you are, kid. I've known for years." His father sounded resigned.

"Yes, I know, Burt Hummel. She's always said that you are very clever." Noah's voice was the same, deeper, more authoritative one he had used in the hospital.

"She also said that he was going to be able to live a full, happy, human life. But, all I see is my boy dying in that bed! What the hell is she going to do about it?"

"She loves him. She is trying to convince her lord husband of the need to bring him to her, to save him."

"She's not trying hard enough!" He jerked in surprise at his father's half-growl half-yell and couldn't hold in a whimper. In her sleep, Santana held him closer. Burt's voice lowered again, "You go to her now and you tell her that if she loves him at all she'll come for him. You tell her that he'll die without her. I don't care what you have to do and I don't care if that bastard tells you and her to just let it be. You both find a way."

"My kind don't take well to orders, Burt Hummel." It was hissed and Kurt wished he had the strength to roll over and tell them that he was awake, because he wasn't understanding what they were talking about at all and he was afraid that soon they would come to blows.

Burt growled from low in his throat in a manner that Kurt had only heard twice in his life. It scared him. His father was usually very even tempered, but when his temper was truly roused it could almost be described as murderous, "It's not an order, Puck. It's a threat. Because if my boy dies I will not rest until I've found a way to that fucking island with as much iron as I can carry. If he goes, he won't be going alone."

Kurt was surprised when, suddenly, Puck laughed, "You're very persuasive, Burt Hummel. She's said that about you, too. Very well. I'm on my way. Help him hold on until I can bring her back with me."

Puck must have left because thirty seconds later his father was sitting on the bed, stroking Kurt's hair gently before he leaned over and pressed a kiss to Kurt's temple. "It's all going to be okay now, kid. You just wait and see if it isn't. I love you, Kurt. So much."

"Mmm…Mr. Hummel?" Santana asked quietly, sleepily, as she came half awake to find Burt sitting on the bed. Kurt wanted to smile, hearing how young and sweet she sounded when she was still half asleep, "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Santana. You girls do a great job. He always sleeps better when one of you is here. Go back to sleep. You have school in the morning."

"M'kay." Kurt felt Santana tuck his head under her chin once more and allowed her steady breathing to lull him back into sleep as well.

That afternoon the glee club came by with Mr. Schue. None of them pretended to hide their heartbreak as they sang "Tears in Heaven" for him. They all surrounded him and held hands. Mr. Schue sat on the bed and supported Kurt against his strong chest as he himself took the solo. Afterward none of them could stop crying as they held each other and Kurt. He finally allowed himself to say his goodbyes to all of them. Santana and Brittany clung to each other as they made their way up the stairs after they had kissed him. Artie simply gave him a fist bump and a simple "Love you, man," before Finn and Burt carried him up the stairs. Tina kissed him and rubbed his nose gently with hers before walking slowly up the stairs after Artie. Kurt was surprised to find Matt crying as he was hugged to the strong young man's chest. He rubbed Matt's back soothingly for nearly ten minutes before the football player could work up the strength to go.

"Hey, Kurt?" Mike called softly, not able to force himself to get closer to the bed than he was, standing at the foot of the stairs even as Matt walked slowly up.

"Yes, Mike?"

"You're one of the biggest badasses I know. I've always thought so. Just…just wanted you to know that."

Kurt smiled, "Thanks, Mike."

Quinn and Mercedes didn't want to let him go, but he eventually whispered to them that they had to and they realized he was talking about more than just that moment on his bed. The three of them whispered their love before the girls had to leave the room so as not to show their tears to him. They wanted to be strong for him. They needed to be strong for him now. Kurt was surprised at how disappointed he was when he realized that Puck wasn't there. They'd never really been friends after all.

"Kurt, we're always going to miss you." Mr. Schue was the last to leave the room.

"I'll miss you guys, too," Kurt whispered. It had been a couple of days since he'd been able to breathe correctly and when he spoke it came out in stops and starts, "And I know the music won't be nearly as good up there. I'll wait for all of you. When you all get up there we'll have to show them how it's done."

"Can't wait, Kurt," Will leaned down to kiss his forehead, "Can't wait. You get some rest now."

Kurt nodded at him. Rest sounded so wonderful. He was so tired.

When he next opened his eyes his room was entirely too bright. Everything was washed out in brilliant white light. He nearly rolled his eyes. Well, if this wasn't a cliché he didn't know what was. He smiled when he could sit up and take the oxygen tubes off and the needles out of his arms. She was standing at the foot of his bed dressed in all black, her hair wild around her. She looked stunning. And she was smiling at him.

"Mom," he greeted her and her smiled widened. He crawled across the bed to her and allowed her to take him in her arms and hug him close, "Time to go?" He asked when he'd gotten his fill of her scent.

"Time to go home," She said quietly in his ear. He looked around his room once, regretted that he hadn't gotten to say goodbye to his dad and stepmom, then nodded at her.

"I'm ready."

Then, he knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

**Author's Notes: After an epically long first chapter, the following will seem ridiculously short! Sorry about that! But, it's okay, I promise! To make up for the short chapter and the length between updates I have two chapters prepped and ready to go! Thank you to everyone who commented on the first chapter and thanks so much for waiting so long for this! **

**The lore I'm borrowing from is the mesh of lores that was presented in Gargoyles: The Animated Series. Some things will be different, but I just loved how clever the compilations were in the series and I think it will work here. Also, I loved my three ladies from 'Would You?' and so they will have small parts here. Hope you're all as glad to see them return as I am!**

**On a Side Note: I have no artistic ability what-so-ever, but I would love to see Puck, Kurt and Titania. If anyone would like to attempt this for me I would be forever grateful and would love to write a one-shot of the artist's choosing in exchange for the drawings. Please just shoot me a message if you're interested. **

**After that epically long Author's Note….Please leave a comment if you have a moment and...Happy Reading! T.H.**

"Mom! Dad!" The desperation in Finn's voice pulled Burt and Carole out of their sleep, each other's arms, and their bed in half a second. Carole caught sight of the clock on the bedside table and the red numbers- five seventeen in the morning- burned themselves into her brain. Five seventeen in the morning would always be a hard time, she knew it instinctively, and she would never be able to sleep through it again. She also knew that because she knew that the desperation and fear in Finn's voice could only mean one thing. Kurt was gone. He had passed sometime in the night and Finn had just woken with his younger brother gone in his arms. She prayed desperately that Finn would be okay, that this wouldn't scar him for life, as she and Burt ran down the stairs. The thought of "Why couldn't it have been Mercedes or Rachel or Santana sleeping with Kurt last night? They're all so much stronger than Finn." made her frown and scold herself internally even as she and her husband stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at the bed Kurt had spent his last days in. She expected to see Finn kneeling at the side of it, Kurt's cool hand gripped in his, sobbing his heart out. But, instead what she saw was Finn on his hands and knees, tearing apart the bedding and frantically searching for something.

"Where is he?" Finn was mumbling over and over again, "Where is he? He couldn't walk. He wasn't strong enough? Where is he?"

"Finn!" Carole called to him, then sprinted across the room when he didn't even seem to hear her. She called his name again when she reached the bedside and set a gentle hand to his shoulder. He simply shrugged it off and continued tearing at the bedsheets. She could hear them ripping and it caused a panic just like Finn's to well up inside of her- Where is he? Where's my baby? Finn's right. He couldn't have left on his own! Who took him?- but, she clamped down on it. Right now she needed to get one son calm so that they could start looking for the other. She winced as she reached out and slapped Finn across the face as hard she could, knowing that the shock of the pain and the fact that she had hit him at all would be the only things that would pull Finn out of his panic. His restless movements stopped immediately and he sat back, looking at her with such betrayal in his eyes for a moment that her heart broke.

"Baby," she said quietly, reaching out to him. The dam broke. He threw himself into her arms, sobbing.

"I woke up and he just wasn't here! Where is he, Mom? Where's Kurt?" He whimpered.

"We'll find him, baby," She promised, kissing his hair, rocking him like he was much smaller and much younger, "I promise we'll find him. Burt…" She turned to look at her husband and felt something in her chest clench. He was seated on the bottom stair, his face buried in his hand, his shoulders shaking with repressed sobs. She wanted to go to him, but she knew that her son needed her, too and she couldn't move when he was half curled on her lap as he was. She called her husband's name again, hoping to prompt him into coming to her so that she could hold both of her men and let them borrow her strength. Burt lifted his face from his hands and Carole was more scared that she had ever been when she realized that he wasn't sobbing.

He was laughing. Joyfully. So joyfully that the very sound of it would have sent thrills through her had the circumstances been different. Tears of joy and mirth were streaming down his face and he could barely stop himself from doubling over again as he slapped his thigh with one big hand and gripped the stair with the other. Thoughts of a mental break filled her head and she began to pray again that this wouldn't be the straw that would break the camel's back, that she wouldn't have to lose both her husband and her son to this.

"Burt, have you lost your mind?" She screeched before she could stop herself.

The question seemed to bring Burt back to them and he abruptly stopped laughing. His eyes went soft and understanding as he looked at Finn and Carole, huddled on the bed, terrified. He hoped it wasn't of him. The relief in his body was so palpable as he gripped the stair banister and stood that his legs almost didn't hold him. He gripped the banister harder to keep himself on his feet until he was certain that he could cross the room to the rest of his family. She knelt in front of the confused Carole and the terrified Finn and wrapped them in his arms before breathing their scent in deep, readying himself to tell them what he had never told another living being before.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, kissing Carole's head, then Finn's, "I'm just so relieved. Everything's going to be okay now. Come upstairs. I'll make us all some breakfast and tell you how I know."

He wasn't sure how he got them up the stairs and into the kitchen chairs without anymore questions. He wasn't sure how he kept his hands from shaking as he began to pull out things to make French toast. Kurt's favorite. The enormity of what had happened hit him then. Yes, he was happy. He had to be happy because somewhere in the world his son was alive and would continue to live for a very, very long time. Just that fact should have made Burt jump for joy and in a way he had already, making Carole and Finn think he was losing his mind. But, there was so much more to it than that and now Burt was just realizing that he didn't know if he would ever be able to see his son again, didn't know if he could ever leave the island that no human could find again without his body breaking down all over again. He rubbed his chest where he knew something would be missing for the rest of his life and tried to concentrate on the fact that Kurt would live. It would have to be enough. He was sure, as Carole wrapped her arms around him from behind and set her cheek to the space just between his shoulder blades and Finn began to crack eggs methodically into a bowl, that he had never loved his new wife and his stepson more than that moment. The three of them made breakfast together side by side, then sat down and ate it in silence.

Carole wasn't sure what made her so calm. By all accounts they should be frantically trying to find Kurt, calling the police, searching for him. But, the strength and finality, the absolute content in Burt took hold of her own heart and she smiled when he smiled at her as they were finishing their breakfast. They each pushed their plates back as they did so and, without thinking about it, began to link hands.

"This is going to sound insane," Burt said after a few moments. His eyes swept back and forth from Carole to Finn as he spoke, "But, it's true. I need you guys to try to believe it."

Carole and Finn nodded in unison. Burt took a deep breath.

"I know that Kurt's okay because he's gone. And if he's gone it means that his mom's come to get him."

"But, Kurt's mom is dead," Finn mumbled.

"No, not quite," Burt said gently, "Her human body died, but there's almost nothing in the world that could actually kill her. Kurt's mom's real name is Titania and she's…she's not quite human. Which means Kurt isn't quite human either."

It took him nearly three hours to tell them everything. They were interrupted more times than they wanted to be, mostly by calls from Kurt's friends, asking how he was that morning. Burt took all of the calls amazing Finn and Carole with the story he was able to come up with off of the top of his head. They tried not to wince as he told the kids that it wasn't good. That he couldn't wake Kurt up and he was pretty sure the end was close. He asked them not to come over and said it was a time for Finn and Carole and himself to say goodbye and that they needed it to be private. Even he winced at the tearful acknowledgements and the requests for him to tell the boy no longer with them that they loved him. Even Schuester called. It was going to be hard for Carole and Finn, Burt mused as he finished the last of the calls, to have to lie this way for the rest of their lives, but it was what they had to do. He hoped they would believe him. The last thing he needed was to be locked up in some nut house because his wife thought he'd had a mental break after finding his dying son missing one morning. But, he showed them the rose Tanya had left him before she died. The one that still hadn't died and then compared it to the rose that had been left on Kurt's bed that they had been too busy and worried to see before. He talked about the things that Kurt had been able to do that no human should be able to do as they did the dishes side by side and understanding about things that they hadn't been able to explain before came into their eyes. It was hard for him not to keep going when they all agreed to take a break for showers and changes, but he did it. He told them where he knew Kurt's mother had taken him as the three of them stripped the sick bed, a much more joyful experience than it should have been under the circumstances. It was Finn, finally, who spoke the one sad aspect of all of it that Burt had been trying to avoid.

"We're never going to see him again, are we?"

Burt didn't have any words for a moment. He wanted to tell Finn that there was always a chance, wanted to tell him that Kurt loved all three of them enough that he would find some way…but he had told himself the same things after Tanya. And he hadn't seen her since the end of their time together.

"No," Burt finally said quietly, "No, we probably won't."

"But, he's alive," Carole whispered, running a hand over Finn's mussed hair and keeping Burt's hand firmly intertwined with hers, "And knowing that is all that matters."

They sat in silence for a long time after that, each of them thinking that it wasn't all that mattered. Not even close. But, not one of them could find the strength to say it out loud.


	3. Chapter 3

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

It was warm. The first thought in Kurt's head as he woke surprised him. He tried to puzzle through it as he worked up the energy to open his eyes. It shouldn't have been warm. Winter in Ohio was not exactly the most mild thing and while it wasn't technically winter anymore, the late season storm that had blown through and left everything covered and damp had been felt by all, but especially by Kurt. With his circulation failing so spectacularly his hands and feet were always cold and when the weather was bad it soaked into his body down to the bone no matter how many space heaters had been brought down to the basement or how many blankets were piled on top of him or how close his friends held him as he slept. He hadn't actually been warm for months and now that he was he wasn't quite sure what to think about it. He was sure that something had happened the night before- he could remember the bright white light- but he couldn't recall anything else, really. He wondered, idly, if he was dead. That might be the only explanation for the warmth and the sunlight he was coming to realize was warm and bright through his eyelids. He must be dead, he thought, a little bit amused, because the sunlight didn't come through the low windows of his basement and if it did it never actually reached his bed. He hadn't put much stock in a heaven since his mother died, hadn't put much stock in a god if he was being honest with himself, but he found himself curious as to what this place he'd come to be after his death looked like. He pulled his arms above his head and indulged in a full body stretch, sighing contentedly before he attempted to open his eyes again. This must be heaven. He felt so warm and content there was no other place it could be. He opened his eyes.

At first all he could see was a rich gold cloth above him. A quick glance to the right told him that it was the very lavish topping to a very lavish four post bed complete with bed curtains that could be closed to give privacy. He threw back a duvet made of the same rich fabric and wondered absently how he wasn't overheated with how warm the air was and how thick the covering was. It was easy, so very easy, to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed and he laughed aloud in joy over his recovered strength. It had been hard to be weak for so long. His voice sounded different somehow, even in his own ears, but he couldn't quite put his fingers on how and didn't want to worry about it in any case. He concentrated instead on the clothing covering him, he would have called it silk, but it was richer than that, finer than that, the finest fabric he had ever seen. He wasn't sure that it was man made, wasn't sure that it could have been.

"Come in," he called, too happy to be suspicious or nervous when a knock came on the door to the room he was in.

Three ladies came through the door in a flurry of happy energy. All three were beautiful. The first had skin nearly as dark as night and midnight hair braided close to her head. She smiled at him gently as she crossed the room and opened a wardrobe before studying him for a moment and digging through the clothing there. The second had almond eyes and skin the color of smooth caramel. The sweet little flowers in her hair gave off a perfume unlike anything he had ever smelled. He could only describe it as lovely, even in his own mind. She giggled as she poured fresh smelling water from the pitcher she held into the basin on a small table near his bed. The third had ice blue eyes and white blond hair that was pulled into a loose braid and draped over her shoulder. Her smile was cool as she crossed the room to throw open his windows. He took in their differences and wondered how he knew that they were sisters instinctively. All three were dressed as if they were visiting some kind of costume party. The dark one was in a kind of catsuit made of the same fabric Kurt had been admiring in his pajamas, showing off her magnificent body. The one who was still giggling was in a beautiful, lavish kimono. The blonde was in a dress that looked like it came from some sort of medieval festival. And yet they all somehow looked completely comfortable and natural.

"We thought we heard you laughing," The giggling one said happily, "We're so glad that you're awake. You were sleeping for such a long time. Your lady mother thought that she had gotten to you too late. We were prepared to mourn, the entire island. It's not every day that…"

"Hush, Sakura!" The blonde scolded her sister, turning from the windows, "Can't you see that you're confusing the poor boy? Really! He's just woken up and you start chattering away at him!"

"Crystal, I'm just happy that he's awake! Lady Titania was so worried and if she'd lost him I know that we would have lost her and…"

"Hush!" Crystal said again. Kurt's head was beginning to spin and he was begging to think that he wasn't in heaven after all.

"Ladies," The third stepped between her sisters and smiled gently at them both, "Let's not fight. It must be confusing enough to him already. Hello, young master Kurt Hummel," She took a step toward him, "I am Aziza and these are my sisters. Crystal," she motioned to the blonde, "And Sakura. We've been assigned as your attendants. Now, I know this must all be very confusing for you, but don't worry. We'll take you to your lady mother and she will explain everything. Come. Let us help you get dressed."

Kurt found himself in a kind of calm daze as he allowed the women to attend to him. He washed his face in the cool, clean water when Sakura directed him to do so and allowed them to dress him like a rag doll in clothes very much reminiscent of the style that Crystal was wearing, all the while listening to their voices- one sweet, one low, and one husky- and not their words as they chattered on about him. He looked down at one point when Aziza was washing his feet gently and tilted his head to the side in puzzlement when he noticed that her ears came to delicate points. His eyebrow when up when he looked at Crystal and Sakura and realized that theirs did as well. He allowed them to lead him through what seemed to be a magnificent old castle and out onto a rolling lawn surrounding it. They kept chattering, either oblivious to fact that he wasn't listening or not caring, as they led him across the grounds and into an orchard where two women worked on strong, healthy peach trees.

One was silver haired, but her face was relatively unlined and her back was straight and strong. She had a circlet on her head and a regal bearing the like of which Kurt had never really seen and he knew that he wouldn't feel out of place bowing to this woman or kissing her hand. Her ears, he noticed, did not come to points. She was human. The other had her back turned to him, but he knew from the dark hair and the way she held herself that she was his mother.

"Yes, Catherine," She was saying quietly as they approached, "You were right. These positively flourish here, don't they? Perhaps we can convince my lord husband of the need for another orchard. Perhaps apples or pears?"

"My lady," Catherine said quietly, her voice held a lilt that he recognized as Scottish, touching her arm gently, "Your son is awake."

"My Kurt?" His mother gasped and turned quickly on her heel, "Oh, Kurt!" She cried out and began to run to him, tears streaming down her face. Kurt felt his own tears warm on his cheeks as he pulled away from the three beaming ladies around him and ran to his mother. They came together hard, wrapping their arms and around each other and squeezing for all they were worth. Kurt marveled once again at how small she was as he was able to tuck her head under his chin. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to risk opening them and having her gone again. But, she wasn't going anywhere. He could hear her murmuring in his ear, calling him her baby, saying sweet things that he had never thought to hear again, and could still feel her hand stroking his hair.

"Baby," She said after a time, "Open your eyes. Let me look into them."

"No," He murmured, not loosening his hold on her.

"And why not?" She asked, laughter in her voice.

"I don't want you to disappear on me again."

"Oh, sweetheart," She sighed and lifted herself up on her toes to place a kiss to his forehead, "I promise, my darling, I am never going to disappear again."

He finally dared to open his eyes and laughed when all she was doing was looking right back at him, a small understanding smile on her face. At the sound of his laughter she threw back her head and joined him.

"Mom, where are we?" He finally asked when they had calmed enough. He looked around, confused as to where the three ladies that had walked him out and the lady his mother had been speaking to had gone.

"They're being polite and giving us some time." She said quietly.

"Are we in Heaven?" Kurt asked quietly, "Am I dead?"

"Oh, no, darling!" His mother exclaimed, turning so that she was in front of him again and taking both of his hands into her own, "The farthest thing from it, actually. You are very much alive, Kurt, and you are going to live for a very, very long time."

"How long is a very, very long time?" Kurt asked.

"Can you imagine the end of eternity, my dearest one?"

Kurt thought about it for a moment and found that it made him dizzy. He just shook his head. His mother set a hand to his cheek and smiled, understanding.

"Then, it's best not to try to think about it yet. Wait a few hundred years."

"A few hundred…" For the first time since waking up Kurt began to feel anxious, "What? How can anyone live a few hundred years? How am I still alive? Where the hell am I? What kind of freak am I? I want to go home! I just want everything to make sense again!" As his voice began to rise higher in pitch so did his panic. He shouldn't be alive, he was sure of it. He had been dying in that bed. He should have died and gone to meet his mother in heaven or been reincarnated or just released back into the universe as energy or something! Hell! He'd even take hell for being gay at the moment as long as it made sense! But, nothing about this did! He could feel his heart beating in his chest and knew that he was alive. And his mother was standing in front of him and he knew that she was alive, too! A sudden wind kicked up and her hair was blown to the side. Her ears came to a point. He tore his hands out of hers and felt his own. His breath began to come in short, shallow gasps when he realized that his now did, too. He wanted his dad and he wanted his mom and he wanted his brother! This woman in front of him was a complete stranger and she had done something to him! Made him different! Made him a freak!

"Baby, you need to calm down!" His mother's voice was gentle even as her words were strong. It was only then that Kurt noticed the ground he was standing on was shaking, as if the earth were displaying his upset along with him. She reached out to cup his face.

"No!" he screamed, tearing away from her, "What have you done to me? Who are you?"

He turned away from the hurt that flashed into her eyes and began to run. He didn't know where he was going, didn't care. He ran until his lungs burned and his legs were about to give out. It took much longer than he thought it should have and that only made him more desperate to get away. He ran past the point of exhaustion and cried out sharply in despair when he came to a stone covered beach. He looked as far as he could see on either side. An island, he realized, his breath coming in gasps that didn't fill his lungs. He was stuck on an island. He fell to his knees and howled, his pain and panic washing over him, consuming him. The stones beneath him trembled. He fell to his side on them and curled into a miserable, mewling ball, trying to wish it all away.

"Oh, Hummel," A familiar voice said gently and he was pulled into a strong, familiar embrace, "You're always such a drama queen." The voice was not condescending, but comforting and Kurt found himself being rocked gently.

"Puck?" He asked quietly, daring to open his eyes. He looked up at the boy he thought he knew. It was Puck, but it wasn't Puck. The man in front of him looked like Puck, had the same smirk, the same eyes. But, this Puck had hair, long and loose to a good deal past his shoulder. His brows came to a dramatic arch naturally and his skin had a slightly green tone to it.

"That's my name," Puck said genially, smirk melting into a genuine smile that Kurt had never seen before, "Or you can call me Robin Goodfellow. Either works for me. Welcome to Avalon, my prince."

He leaned down and pressed his lips gently to Kurt's. Kurt did the only thing he could think of in that moment.

He fainted.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Though This House (Give Glimmering Light) Chapter Four  
**Author:** telepathichawk  
**Rating:** PG  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Puck/Kurt, Will/Emma, Finn/Rachel, Burt/Carole, Ensemble  
**Genre:** Fantasy/Romance  
**Warnings:** Angst  
**Spoilers:** Up to the end of the season.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee. I make no profit from this.  
**Author Notes:** Sorry this is so short and such a long time in coming! I kind of lost interest and inspiration for a time. This is a filler to try to get some of it back. Please let me know what you think if you have a moment! Thanks and happy reading! T.H.  
**Summary:** When Kurt gets very, very sick he discovers things about himself that he never thought possible.  
**Word Count:** ~2,000

"Are you certain that we shouldn't be calling Lady Titania? He's been unconscious for an awfully long time." The voice sounded familiar even if it sounded as if it were coming from under water. He wanted to moan at hearing it, but apparently he was only aware enough to hear, not yet to react to what he was hearing. That was annoying.

"Shrieks, if you don't shut that hole in your face…" Oh, god! The next voice was even worse. Somewhere along the way this strange dream he'd been having had turned into a nightmare.

"Quiet, both of you!" The newest voice brought him the slightest bit of comfort and he had absolutely no idea why. It should have been the voice that scared him the most, the one that angered him. Instead he found himself instinctually moving into the voice, curling himself closer to the warm body seated on the side of the bed, laying his head in the warm lap provided. It was the first he was able to control his own body and it felt good. He nuzzled the hard thigh beneath his cheek and sighed deeply when strong fingers began to run through his hair, massaging his scalp.

"I told you," the calming voice said quietly, "He's just as much a drama queen in this realm as he was in the last. He's only sleeping. He'll wake up when he's good and ready and not a moment before. And, no, Ban, we will not be calling Lady Titania. She's upset that she upset him so greatly. She requests that we try to explain things somewhat first. She'll try to talk to him again when he's had time to process."

"But, Robin!"

Robin? Robin. Why did that name sound so familiar? He felt his eyebrows draw in with his confusion. It came back to his in a rush. A cocky smile, long black hair left flowing and free, slightly green skin that somehow looked much more natural than it should. _"That's my name. Or you can call me Robin Goodfellow. Either works for me. Welcome to Avalon, my prince." _Words that made no sense, that could make no sense when put together like that. The familiar smirk and then…The kiss! His first kiss stolen by someone he wasn't even sure was real! His anger gave him strength and he found his eyelids snapping open. He was sitting up and pulling away before he had even consciously made the decision to move.

"Oh, my god," he moaned, covering his eyes, after he got a look at the three who surrounded him, "This is my worst nightmare come true. I'm dead, aren't I? I'm dead and this is hell."

He looked at them from between his fingers when no one answered him. The three around him had the decency to look ashamed and a little nervous at least. He didn't understand how he could have done anything so very heinous in the entirety of his life to deserve an afterlife where his only companions were Noah Puckerman, Sue Sylvester, and Rachel Berry. If this was even an afterlife. He felt his chest begin to heave and the room began to spin a little when everything came back to him in a rush. Waking in warmth and comfort only to find his mother was not dead and apparently neither was he. He pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and burying his face in his knees. He wanted his dad. He wanted Finn and Carole and Mercedes and Quinn and even if it meant that he was still dying when he woke he just wanted to be back home.

"Easy now, slugger." At least Sue's voice hadn't changed. She still sounded exactly as she always had, half pity and half condescension.

"Take deep breaths, Kurt," Rachel said soothingly. He felt like he was going to be sick, "Try to relax a little." He choked on a sob.

"Hey, Hummel," Suddenly Puck was forcing his chin up and he was looking into strong hazel eyes, "You need to calm down. Take a good look at us. Sure, we're a little different, but look closer and you'll realize we're still the same people you've always known."

"That's not exactly a comfort," Kurt whispered, but did as Puck asked.

He studied Puck first and tried not to let his eyes go too very wide. His skin was indeed a vague green and both his eyebrows and his ears were pointed and swept upwards. Kurt felt a very physical tug low in his stomach and pushed the urge to run his hands through the long black hair only half tied back to the back of his mind. Puck was dressed like an extra from one of the Elvin kingdoms of the Lord of the Rings movies, but the fabric looked expensive and fine, well tailored. It made Kurt a little nervous to think of how natural he looked now; as if this was how he was always meant to look. It made his more nervous that he recognized that fact at all.

He turned his eyes to Sue and almost laughed hysterically. He had hoped that in this insane place there might so some semblance of normalcy. He couldn't picture Sue in anything but a scowl, short hair, and a sweat suit. But, none of those things were true of her any longer. Her long, pure white hair was braided to the side and draped over her shoulder. In a way the stark color made her seem softer than the blonde he was so used to. He knew she definitely looked younger, more like the thirty she claimed to be and less like the near fifty that they all knew she was. She wasn't in a dress, which was a relief, but if Puck was an extra from the Lord of the Rings, Sue was a male extra from Pride and Prejudice. Flouncy shirt and high waist riding pants complete with knee high leather boots. She looked good, he had to admit.

He didn't want to look at Rachel, but she appeared in his line of sight anyway. At least she didn't make him want to gouge his eyes out with spoons here. She was dressed similarly to Puck in a dress of deep jade that accented her amber coloring. But, her skin color was the only thing that seemed usual for her. Her eyes were pure silver and would have been stunning if they weren't so disturbing, and the hair that now flowed down her back almost to her knees was a deep, rich teal. Her eyebrows weren't arched up like Puck's he noticed, but her ears definitely came to a point. She was much more natural like this, too, he realized. She looked more like who she was that she had ever looked before. He buried his face in his knees again. His head was still spinning, but at least the room had stopped.

"Now, Kurt…" Rachel said soothingly, laying a hand on his shoulder. He felt his body react to her touch, like it was acknowledging something, but he didn't even know what it could be.

"No! Don't touch me!" He shouted and tore himself out of the bed to press himself into a small corner of the room between his wardrobe and one of the open windows.

"Ban, Sue, could you give us some time?" Puck asked.

"Sure, Mohawk, we'll get out of your way. Get him calmed the hell down, yeah? He's gonna shake the whole island apart if he throws another bitch fit like his did this afternoon."

"Puck...I don't know if…" Rachel began quietly.

"Move it!" Sue manhandled her out the door then closed it sharply behind her until Kurt was left in the room with Puck still seated on his bed.

"Kurt, you need to calm down a bit if you want any of this to start making sense." Puck drawled, not bothering to look over at Kurt, but at his nails. It was this blatant dismissal that helped Kurt breathe. At least some things were still the same as they were before. Puck's attitude comforted him in a way.

"What's going on?" He asked quietly.

"I'll tell you, young prince, but will you actually hear my words?"

"Stop speaking in riddles and stop calling me your prince!" Kurt burst up from his seated position and slammed his hands down on the windowsill before looking out at the expanse of the beautiful island. He couldn't seem to stop shaking and he wasn't sure if it was from shock, anger, or something else.

"Your mind still thinks that your body is human," Puck said, as if reading Kurt's mind, "It's not used to the power in your veins yet. You'll adapt and feel better, more natural, soon enough."

"You know from experience?" Kurt asked.

"No," Puck leaned back against the pillows on the bed and crossed his ankles, "I've never been human. But, I've seen a couple of others go through it. Kurt...do you know who I am?"

Kurt nodded, still looking out the window, "You're Puck. Shakespeare's Puck."

"I was Puck long before William wrote his play," Puck chuckled, "But, that's right. There's a lot about our world that very few humans ever know. Until today you were raised to believe that there was only one sentient species on the planet."

"How many are there if not just one?" Kurt sighed and gave into whatever Puck was going to tell him. Even if he was going insane, might as well hear him out. He sighed and slipped slowly to his knees, resting his head against the cool stone.

"Three," Puck said quietly, "Humans, gargoyles and the race we belong to: The Children of Oberon. Beings of pure magic," He added on as further explanation.

"I'm human," Kurt sniffled feebly, trying to ignore the tear that made its was down his cheek.

"You were human," Puck corrected, jumping down from the bed and crouching next to Kurt, "You're not anymore. Your mother, my lady, created a whole new body for you, out of pure magic, to save your life. She loves you very much. She always has. It's not my place to tell you more, it's hers. But, you have to know, Kurt, what she did…she did it because she couldn't stand to think of a world without you in it. She would have pined herself to…well we can't die, but…she never would have been the same and the rest of us couldn't allow it. She is our lady and our queen and you are her son. That is why I call you my prince and why I will continue to call you my prince, at least when we're not alone. We can be less formal in private than in public." Puck put an arm around Kurt's shoulders and gently pulled him against him so that Kurt was laying against his chest. Kurt didn't realize how very tired he was until he was relaxing into Puck's strong embrace.

"That's another side effect. Your body is still young. Your strength will come back to you, you'll see."

Kurt made a noise of acknowledgement from the back of his throat, then asked, "Why are Rachel and Sue here?"

"We all belong here, Kurt, on Avalon. The only reason we were in the mortal realm was you. We've been watching over you your whole life. And now that you're home we've gotten to come home, too. Though I doubt Banshee will stay for long. She really is enraptured with Finn. If Milady lets her, I'm sure she'll live out a human lifetime with him."

"Banshee?" Kurt asked.

"Yep," Kurt could feel Puck's chuckle more than he heard it, already nearly asleep, "The legends around the world of the crying woman, the shrieking woman, all belong to our friend. The name Milord gave her is Banshee, but she'll probably let you keep calling her Rachel. She likes it."

"Rachel…" Kurt sighed, "Banshee…why am I not surprised?

"Sleep, my prince," Puck's voice was gently demanding in his ear, "Things will be more settled when you wake and can sleep with your mother. Just relax now and sleep."

Kurt allowed himself to do as Puck said and felt himself lifted back onto the bed before Puck curled around his back and placed a kiss to the back of his neck. He might have thought he imagined the kiss, but he knew he didn't imagine what Puck said just before he fell into sleep.

"I have waited so long to bring you here to see me as I am, my prince. Please see me."


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **Though This House (Give Glimmering Light)

**Author:** telepathichawk

**Rating:** PG

**Character(s)/Pairing(s): **Puck/Kurt, Will/Emma, Finn/Rachel, Burt/Carole, Ensemble

**Genre:** Fantasy/Romance

**Warnings:** Angst

**Spoilers:** Up to the end of the season.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee. I make no profit from this.

**Author Notes:** So sorry this is so late in coming! Everyone's probably forgotten about this story by now! I've been so sick recently, in and out of the hospital for the past…nine months-ish. It all kind of blurs together. And I've had such writer's block! I hope this is a sign that it's going away!

This chapter is a lot of long dialogue and long paragraphs. I hope you forgive it. It's mostly information that needed to be shared before the story could really get going. I promise that Puck returns in the next chapter!

**Summary:** When Kurt gets very, very sick he discovers things about himself that he never thought possible.

**Word Count:** ~2,900

* * *

Kurt knew the song. He knew the words. They came to him as if from a dream of a dream. The tears gathered in his eyes before he even tried to open them and slipped out slowly as he listened. He knew the voice and he knew the intent behind it. This voice loved him more than anything. This voice only ever wanted what was best for him. He was the most important thing in existence to the voice and the song was meant to convey that. The love and the heartbreak she felt at having hurt him in any way. Kurt sobbed softly and turned his face into his pillow. A gentle, cool hand began to stroke over his hair. The voice continued to sing and he knew the years of heartbreak she'd suffered leaving him and the mortal man she loved far behind when her lord and master called her home again. In all her long life no stretch of ten years had ever seemed so long. She sang of how lonely she'd been, how much she's always wished she could hold her baby and her love in her arms once again. Kurt choked on his breath and opened his eyes.

She looked as she had so often when she still in his life, like every picture of her that he had ever had. Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid that went all the way down her back. Her eyes were soft and warm as she brushed his hair back from his face. It was so much longer now that he had ever considered growing it in the entirety of his life. He wondered if he could find a good day spa so that he could get it cut. She smiled as if she could read his thoughts and tugged on one long strand before she leaned back a little to let him sit up. It was strange now to be in the quiet. He'd never felt more like he had his mother back than when she was singing to him like she had been just moments before. She was dressed in the same wide leg jeans he remembered her preferring and what looked like one of his dad's old flannels over a tank top that was splattered with paint. The only thing that told him they were in another time and place was the fact that her ears pointed ever so gently, ever so gracefully. He blinked back the last of his tears and gently fingered the over-shirt he knew instinctively used to belong to the man they both knew and loved.

"When I met your father my lord and master, Oberon, had banished his children to the mortal world. He believed us too cruel to humans. He wanted us to live as humans so that we could understand them. I'd already tried for over nine-hundred years. I married a man who gave me a beautiful baby girl. I adored her, but I couldn't seem to stop thinking of both my husband and my daughter as below myself. I'm not proud to say that I quickly grew bored with them. I left them to continue my wandering, trying to work out just what it was my lord wanted us to learn. And then I met your father."

Kurt couldn't help but take her hand when, as she continued, her voice trembled and a single tear ran down her cheek.

"He was nothing like the men I had met before, nothing like my lord and master. He loved to work with his hands. He threw himself into everything he did with his whole heart. He pursued me with the same single-minded intensity that he had when he was bent over the engine of a car. I don't know how I fell in love with him. By all accounts, if a billionaire adventurist hadn't kept my attention for more than a few years, I should not have been captivated by your father. This simple man. This mechanic with no ambition more than to own his own shop. But, I did fall in love with him. Deeply and truly. And when we found out that I was carrying you our joy and love in each other increased ten fold. The way your father prepared for your arrival and doted over me…I had never known a man to completely adore me the way Burtram Hummel did. I have never known a man since that looks at me the way he did."

"Then why did you go?" Kurt asked quietly.

"I didn't want to, my love. I never wanted to leave you and your father. For the first time in all my long life I was completely happy. You were such a bright, happy child and my every hope for the future. I saw the effect you could have on people. On your father. It was his absolute love for you that changed him into the man you know now, the man who would do anything to protect you and anyone who isn't accepted for who they love. I felt the effect you had on me. I loved you more than anything. It was because of how much and how unconditionally that you loved me that I was able to get back in contact with the daughter I had abandoned and finally see all that was good and lovely in her. We were so happy, my darling.

"But, just after you turned eight, my lord and master called all of his children home. I resisted the call for as long as I could. But, when Oberon calls his children cannot resist for long. The mortal body I had constructed for myself began to die. I revealed myself to your father. We spent all the time I had left trying to find a way that allowed me to stay with both of you. In the end there was nothing to be done. I said my goodbyes to both of you, told you I loved you both so much, and promised your father that I would always look out for you."

"But you didn't!" Kurt pulled his hand away from his mother's and threw the covers off of him so that he could stalk to his window, "You didn't look out for me! You sent Puck and the damn Banshee and Sue Sylvester to spy on me! And none of them did anything to help me! Puck bullied me! Rachel took everything I ever wanted for myself because she was always so much better than me! And Sue! Sue made me feel like I was pasty and ugly and fat and uncoordinated and…I was miserable for most of my life due in large part to things that they and the people they acted like did to me! If it weren't for Dad and the memory of who I thought you were I would have killed myself a dozen times over! And then, just as I was finally getting to like my life, you sat by and did nothing while my mortal body died! You let me be taken away from everything and everyone I love!"

His voice and his anger caught in his throat when he turned around and saw his mother with tears rolling down her face and the tips of her fingers pressed so hard to her mouth that they were white. There was such utter devastation in her eyes, such pain. No matter how mad he was at her he couldn't bare to be the cause of any more of it. He felt the sobs taking the place of the anger in his throat and stumbled to his mother. He fell to his knees and buried his face in the folds of her dress. He let the sobs go when she leaned over him and began to pet his hair gently. He could feel her tears on the back of his neck and was aware of how unusual it felt when she ran her fingers over his own softly curved ears.

"Oh, my darling," She whispered, "I wanted to be with you so badly. Every day was torture. I had no idea it was all so hard for you. I would have…If I had only known, my love…I would have found a way. And, please, believe me, darling, that if there had been any other way to save your life I would not have taken you away from your world."

Kurt sniffled lightly, and pulled back just a little from her embrace so that he could look into her deep, sad eyes again. She looked away for just a moment and spotted the soft brush on the small table next to his bed. She picked it up and he moved without thinking so that his back was to her. He could remember being little and doing this very same thing with her after his baths. It always calmed him into sleep. After she'd gone his father had tried to do it for him, but they'd both come to realize quickly that it was too painful for the both of them. It was soothing now to feel her run the brush through his long hair. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, setting his chin on them as he listened to her continue.

"Your magic was never meant to be so strong, my dear one. I never thought it would be. My daughter's magic only manifests even the smallest amount when she or those she loves are in the gravest of danger. That small amount is enough to exhaust her for days. The magic flowing through your veins was simply too much for your human body to handle. I tried everything in my capability to restrict your magic again and save your human body, but it was simply not within my power. The only thing I could do to save your life was bring you here and construct you a new body of pure magic. I wish there had been another way, Kurt, I do. I never wanted you to be under Oberon's power."

"Oberon's power?" Kurt asked, "How am I under his power?"

"We all are, my love. He was the first. No one knows just how he came to be, not even Oberon. He was the first being of pure magic and is the strongest. We are called his children because he created each of us. He placed his hands in the soil and released his power. And from that power and the earth we grew. We took all shapes and forms as we sprung from the ground and when he felt us grown he called us all to him here on this island. He was lonely, you see. And he wanted companions. We were so new in the world…he…he taught us everything. He taught us about ourselves and what we could do. He showed us how we could help humanity along. He was stunning then. And so charming. He truly believed that our kind could be the silent angels to humankind."

Her voice was so warm, Kurt couldn't help but rub against the hand she'd set on his shoulder, "You fell in love with him."

"I did. I was so enraptured with him and all he said. And he adored me as well in return. We were married before the earth and all of our kind and we celebrated. The very earth around us seemed pleased for us. Those were great and happy days and they seemed to last an eternity. Imagine, my love. An eternity spent dancing, playing, loving and laughing. We were all so young then. It couldn't last."

She sighed and moved off the bed. Her eyes were lost in the past as she moved to the window. Kurt sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

"Humans grew more numerous and we fostered some of the greatest civilizations in history, trying to teach them to live as we lived. But, humanity has always had a will of its own and as the numbers grew and they listened to us less and less we faded into the background of humanity's awareness. We began to grow bitter and cruel. Oberon tried to stop us, tried to tell us that soon enough they would realize they needed us again. But, we didn't listen. We had brought them love and light and all they had done for us in return was to forget us. Instead of helping them we began to pit them against each other for our own amusement. We watched their wars with no remorse, no sympathy. One of us created a plague that nearly decimated them. No one knows whom to this day. The one who did it will have to live with the guilt of it for the rest of time. Oberon saw all of this and saw what our kind had become and he was angered. In a fit of justified rage he divorced me and banished all of us to the human realm in human form. We would live as many lifetimes as humans as it took for us to understand again. We lived and died and lived and died and still I didn't understand."

"Until Dad and me," Kurt found he could smile just a little. Titania turned and returned the smile.

"That you already know. When Oberon could stand his loneliness no longer he called us all back to him. Most were overjoyed. We had been called home. We could all be together again. But, when we returned home it was no longer the same. The third race had come to our island, some of the last of their kind, with their human keepers. Humans on our island! I rejoiced. At least there was a little bit of the world I'd left behind on the island."

"But, Oberon had changed," Kurt didn't know how he knew, but somehow he was certain.

"Yes," His mother sat on the bed again, "The years of solitude had their effect on him. He's grown as cold as we once were. Humans are like insects to him. He's watched all of their wars and grown weary. He declared as soon as I returned that we would be married again and so we were. He doesn't allow me off the island for anything longer than a brief moment in the human world. The others are only allowed off the island if they are in human form and if anything goes wrong they are to return straight away. He's become bitter about humanity and worried about us to the point of control he never tried to exert over us before. I worry for him. And for humanity if he doesn't…if he can't…The mood swings of the most powerful immortal the world has ever known can be dangerous for humans." Her voice was so full of love and remorse.

"You still love him." The realization was striking for Kurt.

"Of course I do. He was my first love, darling. The first who ever had me, body, mind and soul. And he is my king. I have an obligation to him, to my heart, and to the love that we once shared to try to bring him back to himself. He may not be lost to us yet. He allowed me to bring you to the island. He helped me to make a new form for you. Kurt…" She cupped his face in her hand, "Even if I could go back to your father now I wouldn't. He has a beautiful new wife who loves him. He is happy. I wouldn't make him have to decide between us now. It would be cruel to both of us."

Kurt smiled, "He is happy. Does he know that I'm here? Does he know that I'm alive?"

"He does. I made sure that Puck went back to the mortal world and told him while you slept. I would not let him suffer so, thinking you were anything other than alive."

Kurt sighed, glad to know that his father and his family wouldn't mourn him for the rest of their lives.

"Puck said he was very happy to hear it, though he had already deduced it for himself. Your father has always been much smarter than anyone gave him credit for. Puck likes him very much. I can tell."

"Puck…" Kurt touched a finger to his lips and felt the phantom of a given kiss, "He, Banshee, and Sue were sent to what? Keep an eye on me? Protect me?"

"A little of both, my love," Titinia motioned for him to rise and begin dressing as she continued to speak, running his brush through her own lush hair, "When you were young you used to use small magics. Nothing dangerous, but you had a tendency toward trickery. Puck and I had met in our mortal forms just before your birth. He was fascinated with you, loved you, and begged Oberon to be allowed to stay near you after we were all called home. He was there to make sure that your little magics didn't get out of hand."

"I think I stopped just after your mortal body died," Kurt said, more to himself then to his mother. He could remember those little magics now. Making himself invisible when it was time for a bath. Transforming his peas into ice cream when his father wasn't looking. Talking to his mother in his mind when they were in different rooms. His mother always made sure that his father never saw. And when she was gone something in him felt broken. And he forgot that he had ever had magic in his life to begin with. He took the breeches she threw his way from the wardrobe behind his privacy partition and began to change.

"Banshee and two others lived together as a family near you already. I asked them to move closer. They would have been there for you had anything ever happened to your father. And Sue…Sue was created specifically for you, my love. She's always been there to protect you. Always."

"She didn't…"

"From attack, my love. Had anything truly threatened you there would have been no force in heaven or earth to stop her from getting to you. It is the same now. She is meant for you, dearest."

"No wonder I was always entertained by her when everyone else thought her cruel," Kurt smiled as he pulled a clean tunic over his head, "And she did protect me. She saw me through things that no one else could. And she put me on her Cheerio squad. I was her star for a time." He paused, "Mother?"

"Yes, darling?"

"My life wasn't as awful as I made it out to seem. I'm sorry. I was being intentionally cruel to you. I want you to know…I understand now why you had to go. I…I was just angry that I had no choice, but I see now."

"You see what, my darling?"

"I see that you never had a choice either."

He stepped out from behind the partition to see her standing in the sunlight, her arms open to him and tears running down her face. He ran into her arms and held her close. She was just so small.

"I love you so much, my child," She whispered as she reached up to stroke his hair, "I'm sorry. I am a very selfish woman."

"Why do you say that?"

"I am so glad I have you now. I wish there had been another way, but part of me is glad that there wasn't. I have wanted you with me since I left you."

"Mother…" Kurt held her closer, "A part of me is glad, too."

She sighed as if everything had fallen into place perfectly and pulled back, "Come, my son. There is much for you to see. Many for you to meet. You've not even seen the gargoyles yet." She ran from the room with a giggle.

Kurt stopped in his tracks, "Gargoyles?"


End file.
